Business Consulting – Raleigh NC

If you need business consulting in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill or surrounding areas, call Lou today.

Lou has worked with thousands of businesses and would love to speak to you about your unique situations and give outstanding advice.

Pro Biz, prior to 2013, listed and sold over 200 businesses in Raleigh and the surrounding area, and assisted 1,500 buyers in their search for their next opportunity.

Business Consulting

Pro Biz Business Consulting is Pro Business and takes the “Consultative Approach”. We have over 20 years of experience and have sold hundreds of businesses and would be happy to be your business consultant.

Here on this website you will find information you can really use. There are two things someone thinking about buying and becoming a Business Owner and a Business Owner have in common. They both need guidance – the process is uncertain, full of unknowns and can be like navigating through a minefield. They soon realize that “going it alone” is frustrating and there seems to be “a bogeyman behind every tree”. I often hear the comment, “It’s a Jungle out there!” The second thing you will find, if this describes you, that you will have in common, whether Buyer or Seller, is that it seems the only person you can get relevant information from is a Business Broker. Seeking advice, such as from your CPA or Attorney or Real Estate Agent and, of course, the Internet, it soon seems like all roads lead will direct you to a business brokerage firm, website or individual business broker. If you haven’t had this experience, you probably will if you are serious about purchasing an established business, or you if you already own a business and want to retire, liquidate or revamp. But what you really need is unbiased Information and guidance though the minefield! Pro Biz Consulting offers you a Consultative Alternative to the commissioned business broker.

Maybe what you need, at this time, is not a Broker, maybe it is a Consultant. If you are considering selling your business, now or in the future, please use this resource to assist you in making that decision. If you are logging on because you are interested in buying a business, you will also find here presented helpful information about “the process”.

The reason we are called Pro Biz Consulting and not Pro Biz Business Brokers is because for nearly 20 years I have been doing more than just selling businesses. As a business consultant I am sometimes called on to do a business valuation, create a business plan, find financing, consult on a turnaround or give consul on “profit improvement”, or create a sane and profitable “exit plan”. Now, as a retired broker and past member of the IBBA, the CVBBA, the M&A Source, the NEBB Institute and other professional organizations, I pledged to give the best and fairest service while maintaining the highest standards of business practice as I acted in the role of broker myself. I hope to use that past brokerage experience and success to be the Advisor, the Information Resource, the Guide, THE Consultant, you, Dear Reader, want and need going forward. Please contact me, Lou Sauer, by phone or email to take the next step.

Again welcome to Pro Biz Consulting, “Where Buyers and Sellers Are Confidentially Represented” Please select the appropriate link on the menu so that we can help you in a more fulfilling way. Thank you reading to the end of this Opening Introduction.

Business consulting “for those who would you rather pay “as you go” and take a pass on a larger contingency fee. “

Consultative Approach

What you Need Is Information and a Guide!

Pro Biz Consulting is Pro Business and takes the “Consultive Approach”. Here on this web site you will find information you can really use. There are two things someone thinking about BUYING and becoming a Business Owner and a Business Owner have in common. They both need guidance – the process is uncertain, full of unknowns and can be like navigating through a minefield. They soon realize that “going it alone” is frustrating and there seems to be “a bogyman behind every tree”. I often hear the comment, “It’s a Jungle out there!” The second thing you will find, if this describes you, that you will have in common, whether Buyer or Seller, is that it seems the only person you can get relevant information from is a Business Broker. Seeking advice, such as from your CPA or Attorney or Real Estate Agent and, of course, the Internet, it soon seems like all roads lead will direct you to a business brokerage firm, website or individual business broker. If you haven’t had this experience, you probably will if you are serious about purchasing an established business, or you if you already own a business and want to retire, liquidate or revamp. But what you really need is unbiased Information! And Guidance though the minefield! Pro Biz Consulting offers you a Consultive Alternative to the commissioned business broker.

Recent Success Stories:

Absolute Laptop Repair Has New Owner – Cary, NC 27513- Lots of places repair computers but for laptop repairs, Absolute is “the place to go” in Wake County. But being so successful is a two edged sword! How do you sell it, if you are the owner, and not have all the other computer dealers and venders , many of whom are your wholesale customers, find out? The owner tried for over a year on his own and with a bad broker and became very frustrated. Enter Pro Biz Consulting. It is now under new ownership thanks to the Consultative Approach taken by Lou Sauer and Pro Biz.

Here’s a success story you won’t forget, Lou and Pro Biz helped an owner sell his Clayton Retail Carpeting and Flooring business, then when the new owner defaulted on the Seller Financed Note, helped him take it back. Lou consulted on how to reopen “Bigger and Better” and then sold it a second time for the Seller! And this second time, the Seller is staying involved and drawing an additional monthly check while making sure “all goes well.”

With Pro Biz’s help, the Seller was able get paid twice because the first package combined a substantial cash down payment as well as owner financing. The Seller then referred Lou to his uncle in Maryland whose carpet and Flooring business generates over $10,000,000. A typical business broker would have had to walk away, but Pro Biz consults multi-states, nationwide.

Consulting, not selling. The Owner of one of the largest sign companies in North Carolina responded to one of Pro Biz’s marketing programs. In the initial interview, the Owner indicated he just wanted to sell his business and “become a beach bum”. As Lou dug deeper and performed a cursory machinery and equipment appraisal, it became evident that the greatest value of the business was the prime acreage it was sitting on. If the Owner waited until the proposed I-540 connection was completed, the new price would be 50-100% greater within 1-2 years. Then when Lou got the Owner away from his business and as he relaxed with a beer, he explained he and his wife had separated and that was why he wanted to quit and retire at the beach. Most brokers would have rushed into a Listing Agreement, but Pro Biz takes the Consultive Approach. Lou advised him to try to reconcile with his wife, even if only for a year and hold out for the Bigger Payout. He did, they stayed together and he still owns the business which is bigger than ever. Sometimes the best advice is to not rush into selling!

Here’s the story of a business that has an exclusive on a high-dollar software application used in the automotive industry. The Owner interviewed all the top rated brokers in Raleigh, he told me, and then selected and signed with Pro Biz to sell his unique business. The problem was that it would take a large SBA loan to fully fund the Million Dollar sale and at that point in time, getting a SBA loan was more difficult than getting a seat on the last Space Shuttle flight. To make matters more difficult, the Chicago Software Company was being purchased by one of the nation’s leading Automotive Franchisors. The chances of a business broker, even one of the most skilled, overcoming and solving these deal-stoppers was next to zero. Enter the Consultive Approach of Pro Biz Consulting. “This had to be one of the hardest to make happen transactions I ever consulted on,” said Lou. “I think we got one of only a dozen approved SBA loans the SBA handed out in 2010. The intensive negotiations over the SBA and the obtuse Software Company mergers got so heated, that in the end, the Seller didn’t even say ‘Thank You’ to me for closing the impossible deal! But the Buyer did”. And, most importantly to this story, it did close.

Here is a type of transaction that would turn a broker’s hair white and it happened more than 5 years ago. The Owner of Edgecombe Electric passed away, leaving his wife to try to figure out how to run a large commercial electrical contracting business. She called me and I drove out to have a meeting with her. After consulting, we decided to split the business and just sell the Industrial Belting and Supply Division (IBS) of Edgecombe Electric Service, Inc. She had a good management team and kept the core business “in the family” With some consulting IBS was purchased by Industrial Supply Solutions, Inc., (ISSI) who was their primary client or vendor. The challenge was to keep the sale of this division of Edgecombe Electric Service confidential until after its completion. (It can be discussed now after 5 years) That closing took place on December 31, 2008. The seller continues to operate Edgecombe Electric Service which is now entirely separate entity. Edgecombe Electric benefited by the transfer, and it frees up the owner to devote more time to the core company. The Consultative Approach was the correct approach.

Code of Ethics

Canons of Conduct

We will at all times deal fairly with all parties to a transaction.

We will pro-actively assist our clients with all legal and ethical means in helping them achieve their goals.

We will stay informed as to the conditions and trends in our marketplace so as to be able to intelligently advise our clients.

We will limit our practice to our areas of expertise and will refer clients to other professionals as the need arises.

We will keep separate and inviolate any funds entrusted to us in escrow and will provide prompt accounting and disbursement in accordance with our agreements and applicable laws.

We are nationwide, serving all 50 states. If there is an airport within 200 miles and a rent-a-car agency, YES! We go there!